RBC Heritage field returns to 132

Entering its third year under sponsors Royal Bank of Canada and Boeing, the 46th annual RBC Heritage is set to kick off Monday.

After some changes last year, tournament director Steve Wilmot recently discussed what is new this year, what will return to normal and what changes are sticking around for 2014.

The PGA Tour added an additional 12 players to the player field last year, bringing the total to 144, but Wilmot said the field is back down to 132 for this year’s Heritage.

Though the additional players did not adversely affect the operation of the tournament last year, Wilmot said there were special considerations to ensure everything went smoothly.

“We’re back to 132 this year after 144 last year and 120 several years ago,” he said. “It’s tough to judge how the additional players affected the tournament, but you have to take into account the 12 additional players, their caddies, their families, parking spaces, feeding them and things like that.

“Morning start times were pushed back to 7:10 a.m. as opposed to the regular time of 7:20 a.m., and we ran a little later last year. You also have to give the course maintenance team time to do their work, so there was an effect, but I think we handled it well.”

Start times this year return to normal, but one change from 2013 will remain. The space between holes 17 and 18, which was the CBS television compound up until last year, was replaced with a collection of merchandise tents, concessions and a “jumbotron” screen, known as the Heritage Lawn.

The CBS compound will again be on the tennis courts, and Wilmot said the decision was a win-win for all involved.

“At first we weren’t sure how it would be received when we first did it, but it’s been a great success,” he said. “CBS was happy with the move as it gave them some additional space to work with and the Heritage Lawn went over well.

“It will be the same setup this year with some minor tweaks, and there will be a concert Saturday night after the round is over. We want it to be a nice gathering spot for everybody.”

New to the tournament this year, following the dredging of the Harbour Town yacht basin, is the ability for yachts and ships longer than 60 or 70 feet to be able to lay anchor and watch the tournament from the water, even during low tide.

“It’s fully dredged, ready to go and we’re expecting bigger boats out there this year, sitting and watching all the action,” Wilmot said. “It really adds to the experience. It should be great.”

To help with the flow of traffic last year, the Sea Pines merchandise tent was moved from its traditional location in the parking lot to a space between holes 1 and 9.

“We are working on a more permanent solution to parking, with some changes coming as early as next year,” Wilmot said. “We as staff have presented some ideas to the board.